Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, won the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday and will take on Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, in the November general election.
(Mark Graves/The Oregonian)

(UPDATED with comments from Richardson and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.)

Dennis Richardson, a lawyer from southern Oregon, won the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber in the general election.

Richardson, who won big against a field of largely unknown challengers, immediately went on the attack against Kitzhaber, saying the governor would be held accountable for a litany of failed projects.

"It's not going to be my campaign that holds him accountable," Richardson said shortly after accepting the nomination. "It's going to be the FBI and the GAO auditors and the citizens of the state."

Both were references to ongoing investigations of Cover Oregon, the problem-riddled health insurance exchange that Kitzhaber championed.

Kitzhaber's campaign did not make the governor available for comment, nor did it issue a statement after he easily won his nomination against a nominal challenger.

Richardson, a conservative state representative, faces a tough challenge, not only competing against a campaign-hardened three-time winner but also persuading moderate and independent voters to side with him.

As expected, Richardson easily outdistanced a field that included five other candidates who had never run for elective office and had little statewide name recognition.

Richardson was winning in partial returns with 66.6 percent of the vote. The remaining votes were divided among Tim Carr, Darren Karr, Gordon Challstrom Mae Rafferty and Bruce Cuff.

Richardson now must fire some booster rockets in his campaign to make it a race against Kitzhaber. The governor has a sizable fundraising lead and retains high favorability ratings among voters.

Couple those with an expanding economy and the general election campaign starts with Kitzhaber as the clear frontrunner. But the governor has plenty of targets for Richardson to go after.

After it was clear he had won, the Republican Governors Association, which contributed millions of dollars to Chris Dudley's race against Kitzhaber four years ago, sent out a notice that it would support Richardson.

"Oregon is ready to move in a new direction and Dennis Richardson is the best candidate to lead the charge," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chairman of the RGA.

Richardson has made it clear that the failure of Cover Oregon will be a central part of his campaign. He also plans to go after Kitzhaber on the state's lagging education reputation and low graduation rates.